Lynnfield selectmen choose 3 members of new planning committee

LYNNFIELD – The recently unveiled plan for an athletic field complex in Lynnfield took a step forward Monday with the selection of part of a planning advisory committee.At the Board of Selectmen meeting, Selectman Al Merritt appointed three members of a five-member committee of town residents: Phil Crawford, Kyle Shinnick and Arthur Bourque, the departing board chairman who was named town moderator in Monday’s election.Merritt said Crawford, the vice chair of the Finance Committee, is a youth sports coach and the founder of the Peabody-Lynnfield Basketball Association. Shinnick is a past president of the Lynnfield Rotary Club and a partner at the Saugus business Lawn Pros, he said.”Certainly it’s three people that have been around town and have the best interests of the town at heart,” Merritt said.The board voted to approve the appointments.The planning advisory committee, Merritt said, will offer recommendations to the board on the complex’s planning and development as well as oversee all fundraising efforts.The board is still looking for two more members, preferably at least one woman, to round out the team, Merritt said. Those appointments will be announced at the board’s next meeting on April 30 before the annual town meeting.A committee charter will also soon be written, Merritt said, which will be based off of the initial discussion of the fields project from the March 26 board meeting.Merritt said the next step is approval at the annual town meeting to transfer $100,000 out of the sale of real estate fund for preliminary project funding in the areas of consulting and engineering.Sarah Mupo can be reached at [email protected].